Wilfred Ndifon

An important goal of research in immunology is to understand the flaws in the human immune system, such that their impacts can be effectively mitigated. Previous work documented flaws in the mechanisms by which the immune system tempers its responses to pathogens in order to avoid harming the host. As explained here, these tempering mechanisms also govern the phenomenon of the original antigenic sin, whereby an encounter with a new pathogen strain preferentially recalls less potent immune responses directed against an older, moderately different strain.